Upgraded from Exede 25 Classic to ViaSat 2 Unlimited Platinum about six weeks ago. With the upgrade, I have been experiencing connectivity issues since the install with slow speed &/or no connection at all. Most outages have been occurring mid to late morning PST. I've been on the phone with customer support several times a week trying to resolve the issue, but have been told over & over again that the problems were "weather related" issues, even when according to NOAA, the weather was fine here & at the NOC. After several contacts with tier 2 & 3 reps, a service call & modem swap, I finally got an acknowledgement today that there is in fact a known issue with the beam AND the ViaSat 2 Modem itself. It is actually a bug at their end. I suspected that there would be problems to be ironed out with the new Sat, but I had no idea 'til today that there's a chance ViaSat may have to replace the new modems if a firmware upgrade or beam adjustment doesn't do the fix. The Tier 2 rep I talked to today was great! She was the first to give me the straight up & actually called me back to update me on this. Until now, its been sooo frustrating trying to find any info. No word here, on dslreports, or Google searches on ViaSat 2 status or updates. Hope this info may be useful to those, like me, who were in the dark about this. I'll be eagerly waiting for an update from ViaSat about this.
Ps... I did get a $45.00 credit. Whoo Hoo!
Ps... I did get a $45.00 credit. Whoo Hoo!
Posted 7 months ago
Stephen Rice, Champion
VeteranSatUser, Champion
That's what we thought. Got a second tech out here, who checked the TRIA, dish, cable & modem. All checked out fine. He even swapped modems just for good measure. When it works, its great. I get HD straming & a solid FL (RX) SNR between 9 & 10.. a good signal. As wee speak, SpeedTest shows Download of 23.6 Mbps & Upload of 0.12 Mbps... far below what should be expected from the ViaSat 2 Platinum Plan
Stephen Rice, Champion
Yep. I bought four shares last week. I checked yesterday and noticed it tanked to $67 a share so I bought four more. I think it's a little more than $65 a share right now.
Stephen Rice, Champion
Hopefully it goes up on Monday. Otherwise I'm going to buy another four shares and I'm already broke. lol
Smart people buy when solid stocks are low instead of panicking. I'm just worried about the antenna issues on Viasat 2, but Veteran brings up a good point. Viasat has the big contacts, so the money is there to be made.
Smart people buy when solid stocks are low instead of panicking. I'm just worried about the antenna issues on Viasat 2, but Veteran brings up a good point. Viasat has the big contacts, so the money is there to be made.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
It's all about the government and airline contracts.
I "upgraded" to Viasat 2 and it's worse. Now i'm stuck with a 2 year contract. No good info from Viasat. They won't explicigly acknowledge that it's their problem and won't even guess when it might be fixed. With bad antennas on the bird this might be as good as it ever gets. Intermittancy every day. I just dropped to the cheapest plan and with the unreliability it's not worth even that. So much for my hope to dump rip off DirecTV and use Internet via Viasat. I can get crappy Internet via wireless if nothing improves with Viasat. Oh, and the Viasat phone hasn't worked since the upgrade to Viasat 2. Long waits for a human being have frustrated me cancelling that several times. It's frustrating to spend so much for so little.
Matt B, Viasat Employee
Todd, please email us at ViasatListens@viasat.com with your account info, and a description of the issues you are encountering.
Lol. I needed a good laugh before the Easter weekend. First ViaSat 2 complaint, and it’s legit. Dang. I was hoping everyone would switch, but alas, looks like fairy tales don’t come true. Probably makes sense that you wouldn’t read about this. This is what, the third person to post that actually has ViaSat 2 service?
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Pretty much. After a month in service and crickets for the most part on this board.
Good or bad you would expect more chatter about it. I mean if their are implementation problems I understand. I just don't think it is rolling out as smooth as it was expected.
Good or bad you would expect more chatter about it. I mean if their are implementation problems I understand. I just don't think it is rolling out as smooth as it was expected.
(Edited)
Oh, forgot to mention, ViaSat tier 2 also showed an IP disconnect error on their end whenever trying to access & diagnose my modem status. I've suggested to them that this may be caused by my modem being in "Bridge" mode, instead of wireless "Router" mode, but they insist that wouldn't be the cause of the error... Well, while swapping modems, the tech was unable to get the new modem to pass a connectivity test in bridge mode, but was able to pass the test in router mode. (With only 2 ethernet ports, the new modem makes a lame router.) BTW, if you're in bridge mode, ethernet port 2 (the one on the right, facing the rear of the modem) is disabled.
At least for now, my old Surfbeam 2 modem with Exede 25 Classic was a much better & reliable option. For those of you chomping at the bit, I'd say hold on to your existing plans until they work the ViaSat 2 kinks out... At least for now, ViaSat 2 Unlimited is definitely not worth $200.00+/month for what I'm getting in speed & reliability.
At least for now, my old Surfbeam 2 modem with Exede 25 Classic was a much better & reliable option. For those of you chomping at the bit, I'd say hold on to your existing plans until they work the ViaSat 2 kinks out... At least for now, ViaSat 2 Unlimited is definitely not worth $200.00+/month for what I'm getting in speed & reliability.
No way I'm ever paying $200/month for internet.
Just got on the new satellite and was sadly informed that I needed a wireless router just to get things going. Today I experienced no internet and had to power down and back up. To add fuel to the fire they said they were going to give me a free months service for having to buy the additional wireless router. They only gave me $109.99 because I have other credits. That BS and poor business. Only 23 more months and bye bye Exede
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Which of the following three modems were you supplied with?
Surfbeam 2
WiFi Modem
WiFi Gateway
Only the Surfbeam 2 requires using a router if you want wireless access, the other two include a built-in wireless router and of those bottom two, supposedly only the WiFi Gateway (bottom) can be used with the new satellite (Viasat-2). Just curious, because something isn't adding up on your post, unless you're saying they were unable to get the wireless functionality on either of the bottom two to work in your environment in which case they should have simply replaced the modem/router with one that works - regardless many here might suggest you'll do better with your own router - you'll see ;)
Surfbeam 2WiFi ModemWiFi GatewayOnly the Surfbeam 2 requires using a router if you want wireless access, the other two include a built-in wireless router and of those bottom two, supposedly only the WiFi Gateway (bottom) can be used with the new satellite (Viasat-2). Just curious, because something isn't adding up on your post, unless you're saying they were unable to get the wireless functionality on either of the bottom two to work in your environment in which case they should have simply replaced the modem/router with one that works - regardless many here might suggest you'll do better with your own router - you'll see ;)
(Edited)
Ray, when your service is working properly, are you getting the 100Mbps speed of your Platinum plan?
As its advertised at 50 mbps I'd expect not
Stephen Rice, Champion
Platinum is advertised as up to 100 mbps. Gold is advertised as up to 30 or 50 mbps depending on what bird you are pointed at.
I am on VS1 Gold 30 I see speeds as high as 60MBps at times. Guess I am in a lucky area.
Most likely. 22.9 on a 25 plan is as fast as I be ever seen.
There were instances when I'd get up to 145 Mbps. On good days, download speeds were between 80 to 90 mbps. Until several days ago, it was down to 40 - 60. Lately, the best I've been getting is around 20 -25 Mbps. Far from the promised "up to 100 Mbps" speeds. As we speak, I have no internet access... Again! For now, this is definitely not worth the extra cost, or 2 year contract.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Wow. Haven't heard from James lately. I wonder what he is seeing.
No they didn't. We did discuss though, that the main noc serving me was in Denver. Whenever I run a speed test, the servers chosen are either in KS, TX or Louisiana, even though I live near Los Angeles. I'll ask next time I call
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Not sure if that will work. Has anybody even seen a Viasat-2 beam map? I mean posted on the internet.
Even as an installer, I have not seen a Viasat2 map. The only thing I've seen is a cropped image of the closest small beam nearest our coverage area with no other beams shown. Installers do have access to a Network Status Portal that lets us know if there are known issues in certain beams. Currently there is one beam listed with issues similar to what Ray is describing and is currently being investigated, but without a beam map I have no idea what part of the country this beam covers.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
I have seen it. At the time it was very proprietary and I question if it will ever be shared with dealers or anybody else because it will give insight to where Viasat is targeting certain areas with the high density spot beams.
Of course, what I saw might all be out the window now with the antenna deployment issues.
Of course, what I saw might all be out the window now with the antenna deployment issues.
(Edited)
It's almost been eerie how quiet it's been on the internet about Viasat 2. I've been searching for reviews and searching twitter, facebook, dslreports and it's been complete radio silence beyond the 3 reviews here (1 negative).
This tells me that they aren't rolling this out wide yet or people aren't picking up the plans because they are expensive/underwhelming compared to previous plans. Maybe a combination of both!
This tells me that they aren't rolling this out wide yet or people aren't picking up the plans because they are expensive/underwhelming compared to previous plans. Maybe a combination of both!
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Very insightful. I agree with your analysis.
Recently decided to switch to Liberty (?) From Classic 15...sometime after the original offer they stuck in a line where you MUST sign for another two years...that somehow carries a message to me...wife has 'the other guy' and I can bounce back and forth
Rgds
Rgds
Bev, Champion
Tom, that's because you had to have new equipment for the new plan so, yes, a contract is required on what amounts to a new install.
Tnx Bev...nearest installer is 250 miles down the road (not dealer) so I will leave this alone
Rgds
Rgds
Dlee, Im on beam 745, with Core Node out of Denver. Downloads no better than 5 Mbps & uploads less than 0.1 Mbps for the past 24 hrs. I've got an open ticket pending but no resolve in sight 'til the folks at the NOC say so. Until then, I'm pretty much shut down with VS-2 Unlimited Platinum.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
For all you are paying, I hope you get a usage credit.
Beam 745 does not show up as a problematic beam in the status portal. Beams usually get listed when a majority if not all customers are having the same issue. Your issue may not be affecting everyone in the beam. Hopefully they'll find a resolution soon.
I am still testing the plan so far so good. able to steam two full hd at the same time.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Then don't waste bandwidth downloading Wikipedia :)!
Stephen Rice, Champion
Pictures sir, pictures. I've got a ton of em now.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
In 1080 or 480 resolution???
Stephen Rice, Champion
Probably 480p. We are talking the whole Wikipedia.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
But you need maximum resolution. The devil is in the details!
Here's an update since I've been back online. Two days with uninterrupted service so far. Downloads averaging between 50 - 70 Mbps, but uploads still very slow, almost always under 0.1 Mbps. Latency consistent between 650 - 675 ms.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Thanks for the update.
Something definitely off with the upload stream. That issue could be anywhere. As long as it isn't a problem physically with the satellite, should be able to be fixed.
Something definitely off with the upload stream. That issue could be anywhere. As long as it isn't a problem physically with the satellite, should be able to be fixed.
Good news with your download speed Ray, we all want V2 to be viable.
Just a brief update since I've been back online. Downloads still averaging between 50 - 70 Mbps, but uploads still very, very slow, almost always under 0.1 Mbps. Seems as though VS-2 hasn't caught on much yet on this forum, except for maybe James & I.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Doubt there are that many residential subs, whether it be because of the price or the availability.
Curious. With that low of upload speed have you tried VOIP or a video conference? Wonder if that even works?
Curious. With that low of upload speed have you tried VOIP or a video conference? Wonder if that even works?
Good question. I'd like to know too but I haven't done video conferencing or VOIP with the new plan.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
VOIP probably works, but I doubt video conferencing can work at 100kbps. Maybe at potato cam quality :).
(Edited)
